


Handle With Care

by Must_Be_Thursday



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Anakin Skywalker Needs a Hug, Angst, Brotherly Love, Gen, Hurt Obi-Wan Kenobi, Hurt/Comfort, Serious Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:00:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23758750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Must_Be_Thursday/pseuds/Must_Be_Thursday
Summary: The Jedi should know better than to stand around in a war zone without some proper armor.
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 32
Kudos: 462





	1. Chapter 1

The war had been hard on the padawans. Anakin took every opportunity when there was a lull in the fighting to help Ahsoka with her training. After a successful battle alongside the 212th on an outer rim planet the master and padawan were letting off some steam sparring on a patch of packed soil. Obi-Wan took a break from overseeing the cleanup of the battle to watch Anakin and his grand padawan work together. The pair had gotten close over the last several months and Obi-Wan was impressed with how well Anakin had taken Ahsoka under his wing. He watched with a small smile as they ran through several drills before going freestyle. 

“Care to go a few rounds, old man?” Anakin asked Obi-Wan. He had mischievous grin on his face. “Let’s show my Padawan how it’s done.”

Obi-Wan unclipped and activated his lightsaber, sizing up his former Padawan. “Careful Anakin, I might teach Ahsoka your tricks.” 

Ahsoka lit up at Obi-Wan’s remark. She loved watching her Master and Grand Master bicker like younglings.

Anakin circled his friend playfully, the two hadn’t sparred together for some time. “To be fair, they’re your tricks as well Obi-Wan. You taught me everything I know. It would be embarrassing for Ahsoka to be able to take us both down.”

“Now, now my dear Padawan. Even you could still learn a thing or two from your old ---” Obi-Wan stilled and trailed off noticing a warning in the Force. Anakin and Ahsoka tensed as well, raising their sabers in defensive positions. 

The sound of a gunshot, sharper and louder than any blaster, was followed Obi-Wan’s short gasp of pain. He had instinctively moved to deflect the projectile hurdling towards him. Instead of ricocheting like a blaster bolt, it shattered against the blue beam of his lightsaber, a spray of shrapnel burying in his chest. Anakin and Ahsoka were frozen in silent shock as Obi-Wan’s lightsaber slipped from his grip, deactivating when it hit the ground. He raised a hand to his chest. Obi-Wan swayed when he looked down and noted the blood that covered his palm.

“Anakin?” Obi-Wan whispered as his knees gave out. Anakin lunged for him, catching Obi-Wan under the arms and easing them both to the ground. He shifted so he could hold Obi-Wan across his lap, his head resting in the crook of Anakin’s arm.

“Ahsoka, take Rex and a squad, and find that sniper!” Anakin shouted toward his padawan as he pried Obi-Wan’s hands away from his chest. Ahsoka hesitated for a moment, torn between wanting to help Anakin with Obi-Wan and following her orders.

Anakin met his padawan’s eyes, and saw his own fear reflected in them. He sent her a gentle wave of reassurance through their bond. “It’s the best way you can help right now.” He quietly explained. She steeled her gaze, nodded, and turned on her heel running in the direction the shot had from, shouting orders to the clones nearest her.

“You’re a good…master to her, Anakin.” Obi-Wan gasped.

Anakin allowed a small smile to grace his lips, “I had a pretty good example, Obi-Wan,” he replied as he quickly peeled away the outer layers of tunics. Sensing Obi-Wan’s dim lifeforce beneath his hands, Anakin was reluctant to let him go, but couldn’t do much while holding him. He slowly lowered Obi-Wan to the ground, took steadying breath, and used his considerable strength to apply pressure to the worst of the wounds. 

Obi-Wan shuddered under the weight and brought a hand up to tug at Anakin’s wrist, “Not so hard…can’t…breathe.”

Anakin felt the fear he’d been trying to release into the Force flair up and he raised his gaze to look at his friend. Obi-Wan’s face was sheet white. A sharp contrast with the subtle flush he’d had all day from the crisp air. Anakin caught a glimpse of blood painting Obi-Wan’s teeth as the man continued to take gasping breaths.

 _His lungs. Kriff, there has to be pieces close to his heart too._ Anakin thought in horror looking back to his hands and the mess of Obi-Wan’s chest beneath them. Blood was welling up between his fingers and quickly soaking Obi-Wan’s tunic and robes.

“Just the left lung…. I think. Heart’s not…compromised yet.” Obi-Wan attempted a deeper breath as Anakin let up slightly on his wounds. Anakin hadn’t realized he’d let his thoughts stray through their bond.

Anakin risked taking his left hand off Obi-Wan’s chest to feel his pulse. A quick, stuttering beat drummed beneath his fingers. _Not compromised?!_

_It wasn’t struck, something else is wrong._

Cody sprinted up with Kix at his side. Cody quickly set up a perimeter to protect his general as well as provide some privacy. Kix knelt across from Anakin and removed his helmet, “Keep him awake, General,” he said to Anakin as he opened his pack. Kix took over and began his assessment a moment later, quickly cutting through Obi-Wan’s clothing to get a better look at the wounds.

“Still with me Master?” Obi-Wan’s eyes had drifted shut but the tension in his face as well as his pained presence in the back of Anakin’s mind gave away his consciousness. Anakin took Obi-Wan’s hand in his own and leaned over his master’s face gently patting his cheek. 

“Still here, Padawan mine.” Obi-Wan whispered, fluttering his eyes open. The usually clear eyes were dull and had a slightly glazed appearance, Anakin had never seen such pain in his friend’s eyes before. Obi-Wan was always so careful about releasing his fears and shielding those he couldn’t. The fact that he didn’t even try to now scared Anakin more than the wounds themselves. Obi-Wan was fading even faster than he initially thought.

“Let me help you with the pain,” Anakin pressed, trying to quietly worm his way into Obi-Wan’s mind. He cupped the back of Obi-Wan’s head, “I can help. You taught me how, remember?”

Obi-Wan nodded slightly but refused to let Anakin further into his psyche, “Not yet…save your strength…I’ll need you soon. I believe.” He forced his eyes to focus on Anakin’s face. For a fleeting moment Anakin saw a memory Obi-Wan had been trying to hide from him: A young Obi-Wan holding a mortally wounded Qui-Gon in his arms. The vision dissolved and Obi-Wan’s damp eyes were boring into Anakin’s. _I’m sorry, Anakin. I don’t want to leave you like that._

The young man swallowed and tried to steady his voice, “That won’t happen to you Master, you’re not hurt as bad as he was. And we have help.”

Cody knelt down near Obi-Wan’s head, “I’ve called for an emergency medical evac,” he informed the generals, gripping Obi-Wan’s shoulder in a silent display of affection. General Kenobi was rarely seriously wounded, and it unsettled the commander. So few natural borns treated clones as well as Obi-Wan did; it was easy to get attached to the Jedi.

“We don’t have time,” Kix said shortly, studying the holo projection of a scan he took of Obi-Wan’s chest, “He’ll bleed out before we get back to the carrier. We need to do field surgery now. I don’t have a proper anesthetic though; can you help with that General Skywalker?”

Anakin stared at the projection for a moment. Most of the pieces seemed to be to the left of Obi-Wan’s heart though a few were too close for comfort, and at least two had nicked his lung. More troubling was the internal bleeding, likely the cause of Obi-Wan’s irregular heartbeat. Anakin turned his gaze back to his friend to find he had been trying to process the hologram as well. _I’ve never done a full healing trance on someone in this condition, Master._

Obi-Wan tore his eyes from the diagram depicting the minefield that had taken over his chest cavity. He looked over to his best friend. _I trust you Anakin. You’re powerful with the Force, it will guide you._

_I don’t know if I’ll be able to pull you back out._

_We’ll have to worry about that later, my friend. I’m out of time._

Anakin winced at Obi-Wan’s blunt appraisal of the situation.

“Sir?” Kix asked. 

Anakin nodded. “I can do it.”

“Good. Commander? There’s universal blood stored in the transport and sterile sheets. I’ll need both as well as saline.” Cody set off without a word. “Sir,” Kix addressed Anakin again, “He’ll probably need help breathing too. A rebreather won’t be enough if his lung collapses,” It hadn’t escaped Anakin that Obi-Wan’s breaths had developed a wheeze on each exhale.

Anakin nodded again and shifted so he was seated above Obi-Wan’s head, “I’ll be going under with him, sort of, it’s hard to explain. I’ll be in a deep meditation to make sure he doesn’t slip away; I can keep an eye on his breathing too.”

Satisfied that Anakin could handle keeping Obi-Wan immobile and breathing, Kix set about wiping down Obi-Wan’s chest with a disinfectant and laying out what he’d need for the delicate surgery. Cody returned and removed Obi-Wan’s right glove to set up an IV for the blood and fluids. Kix spread the pale blue surgical sheet across Obi-Wan’s upper body and quickly cut a space to allow access to the wounds.

“As soon as you’re ready,” Kix said to Anakin.

Anakin cradled his master’s head in his hands and tried to relax as much as he could, “Ready, Obi-Wan?”

Obi-Wan nodded. Before giving in to the darkness at the edges of his vision he whispered, “Anakin…you’re a good brother…I - I love you.”

Tears pricked Anakin’s eyes. He’d often sensed waves of affection from Obi-Wan, but it wasn’t proper for a Jedi to say such things. Anakin realized Obi-Wan believed himself to be dying. He _was_ dying. Anakin wiped his eyes on his shoulder and leaned down to press a kiss to Obi-Wan’s forehead, “That sounds an awful lot like a goodbye, Obi-Wan,” he murmured into Obi-Wan’s hair before closing his eyes and gently pulling them both into a deep meditation. 

Obi-Wan was too weak to resist falling listlessly into the Force, Anakin quickly tethered himself to the battered man’s signature to prevent him from slipping away completely. Once Anakin was certain he had a solid hold on his friend, he studied Obi-Wan’s faltering heart and strained breaths. _I won’t let go Obi-Wan._ He guided the Force to fold around wounded man, sending him into the painless bliss of a healing trance.

*

Anakin floated in the Force while watching over Obi-Wan. He released all of his fear into the soothing presence surrounding him. Looking into Obi-Wan he saw the horrific damage the bullet fragments had done. _A bullet. Where did someone even find bullets?_ Anakin shuddered at the thought of how bad it might have been had Obi-Wan not slowed it down with his lightsaber. Visions of a severed artery or ruptured heart flashed through his mind. _He would have been dead before he hit the ground._

Pushing away thoughts of what may have been, Anakin focused on his charge. Kix must have been making progress. Slowly but surely the fluid surrounding Obi-Wan’s heart was drained away and with the pressure relieved it reestablished a proper rhythm on his own. Twice Anakin had to guide Obi-Wan’s lungs through several breaths before they resumed their duty independently. Anakin began to tire. Usually being wrapped this deep in the Force was restorative, but he was expending energy faster than he could gather it. 

Anakin wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but he noticed that Obi-Wan seemed to have stabilized. He’d been taking easy breaths on his own for some time. His chest was still a mess, but it seemed to have been patched together both externally, and here within the Force. The deepest of the wounds had begun to knit together from the inside. On the physical plane he felt the ghost of a hand on his shoulder. At the same time a familiar voice drifted through the Force.

_He’s stable now Anakin. You can let go._

_Ahsoka?_ Anakin felt their bond light up at his recognition.

_Yes, Master. It’s time to come back. Obi-Wan can hold his own now._

Anakin took one more look at his Obi-Wan in the Force with him. He tried to remind himself that he wasn’t abandoning him, Obi-Wan would be there when he came out of his meditation. Gradually, Anakin released his hold on Obi-Wan’s signature. He remained for a few moments more to be sure his friend wouldn’t dissolve into the Force. Ahsoka had been right though, Obi-Wan remained whole and eventually Anakin let himself drift back to his body.

It was a jarring transition, but Ahsoka and Rex were on either side to support Anakin. He looked down and found Obi-Wan laying before him. Head still cradled in his hands, face relaxed, breaths deep and even. The rest of Obi-Wan’s tunics had been cut off. One of the blankets similar to those used in the barracks was laid over him, and just the tops of the bandages covering his chest could be seen under thick wool. 

Anakin heaved a great sigh of relief and leaned into Ahsoka’s side. She and Rex guided him to the ground and a cloak was draped over his frame. Ahsoka squeezed his shoulder then stepped away to give him a moment with Obi-Wan. Anakin rested his head on Obi-Wan’s shoulder, taking in his familiar scent, relieved to feel the warmth and life flowing through the man. Eventually he became aware of Kix looking him over and the sound of familiar voices nearby. 

“There you are.” Kix said when Anakin finally managed to turn his head away from Obi-Wan, “Don’t try to sit up. I’m no Force expert, but you seem to have pretty thoroughly drained yourself.”

“How is he?” Anakin asked turning back to his friend. Anakin noticed dried blood in Obi-Wan’s beard and hair from his own hands and anxiety rose in him again.

“Stable. It was pretty bad for a while, but he should make a full recovery. We’re going to transport you both back up the carrier soon.” Kix reached for a preloaded syringe and turned back to Anakin, “You’re going to pass out soon anyway, but I have a sedative. No arguments.”

Anakin nearly smiled at Kix’s tone. The medic was used to Anakin's aversion to being sedated, but the knight was too spent to object. He just nodded and reached out to thread his flesh hand into Obi-Wan’s hair, “Just, please keep us together.”

There was a pinch at his neck and Anakin’s vision began to swim when he heard Kix’s reply, “Of course, General.”


	2. Chapter 2

Anakin woke with a start to silent vibrations running through his right arm. He looked over to find Ahsoka hovering a handheld sonic cleaner over his prosthetic, “Hi,” she whispered, and then a little louder, “I didn’t want your joints to freeze up because of the…the blood. I’m almost done but if you’d rather do it later…”  


"No, it’s okay. Thank you, Ahsoka.”  


His Padawan smiled and returned to her task. Anakin took in the rest of the private med bay room and soon found Obi-Wan laying on his other side. He gently probed at Obi-Wan’s mental shields and was surprised to find him so close to the surface. Instead of the deep trance he had been in when Anakin collapsed, he was merely sleeping. “He pulled himself out?” He asked glancing back to Ahsoka.  


Ashoka sat down the sonic and reached out for Obi-Wan as Anakin had. 

She looked to Anakin with surprise, “I guess so.”  


Anakin shifted to a seated position and was about to rise to get a closer look at Obi-Wan when Kix walked through the door. “Good to see you awake, Sir,” he said to Anakin before lifting the blanket laid over Obi-Wan to examine the bacta patch covering his wounds. He spent a few moments studying the vitals streamed to his data pad before pulling the blanket back up over Obi-Wan’s chest and crossing the room to take a look at Anakin.  


“General Kenobi is going to be fine, though he’ll be sore for a few days.” Kix reassured the two younger Jedi, “He should wake up soon. I’ll even let you sit with him if you promise to eat something, Sir.” He picked up Anakin’s hand to remove the IV Anakin had failed to notice.  


“I’ll go find something for us, Master,” Ahsoka slid out of her seat and into the corridor.  


“Thanks, Kix,” Anakin said as the medic placed a small bacta plaster over the hole left in Anakin’s hand.  


Kix nodded and set about straightening up the room as Anakin pulled Ahsoka’s chair over to sit at Obi-Wan’s side. He settled his hand on Obi-Wan’s wrist to feel his pulse. It reassured Anakin to feel the strong and steady beat beneath his fingers.  


Eventually Kix ran out of things to organize and started to leave before hesitating at the door, “Is something wrong, Kix?” Anakin asked, he noticed Kix looking down at something in his hand.  


“Erm, no Sir. I just…” Kix turned around and held out a small jar to Anakin, “I know Jedi don’t usually like to keep souvenirs. I didn’t think General Kenobi would want the reminder, but it felt wrong to throw them away.”  


Anakin examined the jar and found several pieces of shrapnel rolling around in it, “Thank you, Kix,” Kix nodded and silently left the room.  


Anakin looked Obi-Wan over once he was alone. Someone had cleaned away the blood. His hair was bit longer than he’d been keeping lately. The General had been jumping from one mission to the next for several weeks and hadn’t been home to Coruscant longer than a few hours for some time. Anakin reached up to push the locks off his forehead. He was thinner than usual too. Anakin had suspected as much, but it was difficult to tell with Obi-Wan’s layers of Jedi garments. On the rare occasions they got to share a meal these days Obi-Wan didn’t have much of an appetite despite the endless energy he expended trying to hold the Separatists at bay.  


Anakin was shaken out of his musings by Ahsoka’s return. Suddenly famished, he looked over what she’d managed to find at the late hour. She laid out two ration bars, a bottle of water, and a pack of dried fruit he recognized. “I know you like shuura,” Ahsoka explained, opening one of the ration bars for herself, “Senator Amidala usually brings back a case when she’s been home to Naboo and always gives me a few.” Anakin smiled at that. He often swiped one from his wife’s stash himself when he got to visit her.  


“Thank you, Ahsoka,” he said tearing open the package. They ate in companionable silence for a few minutes while Ahsoka perched on the foot of Obi-Wan’s bed and reached over to pick up the jar Kix had left.  


Anakin realized he still hadn’t learned what exactly had occurred when Obi-Wan was shot, “What happened with the sniper, Ahsoka?”  


“I would like to know as well,” came a soft voice from the bed.  


Anakin and Ahsoka jumped from their seats and rushed to the head of Obi-Wan’s bed.  


“You two are a sight for sore eyes,” Obi-Wan said with a groggy smile.  


“Obi-Wan,” Anakin whispered, taking in the sight of Obi-Wan, awake and relatively alert, his presence buzzing gently in the back of Anakin’s mind.  


“You did so well, Anakin,” Obi-Wan turned to Ahsoka and placed a gentle hand on her forearm, “You both did.”  


Obi-Wan noticed the jar in her hands and reached for it. He rolled it around studying the tiny bits of metal, “What happened?”  


Ahsoka cleared her throat, “The sniper was hired. He rolled over on his employers when we caught him. Some of the industry leaders on the planet have been making deals with the Separatists and lost everything when we won control. They wanted to hit the Republic and thought…taking out a general would be quite a blow. Slugthrowers aren’t too uncommon out here and they found an assassin who still had one.”  


Obi-Wan lifted the blanket covering his chest and traced the edge of his bandages, “I’ve heard of Jedi being wounded like this, but I never thought…”  


Anakin squeezed his hand, “Are you in pain?”  


“No,” Obi-Wan replied in a tight voice. He had yet to take his eyes from his chest.  


Ahsoka sensed the shift in Obi-Wan and laid a hand on his arm to get his attention, “I’m going to turn in. You two should get some rest soon too, Rex and Cody said they’d stop by in the morning.” She hesitated for a moment before leaning over and pressing a quick kiss to Obi-Wan’s temple. She turned and swept out of the room before Obi-Wan or Anakin could react.  


Obi-Wan looked over to Anakin, “I fear your Padawan is forming an attachment.”  


Anakin looked down at his hand still laced through Obi-Wan’s, “I can hardly scold her for something I’m guilty of myself.”  


“No. I never could either.”  


Anakin took a seat at Obi-Wan’s hip and the two sat in silence for a few moments trying to gather their thoughts and release their fears.  


“You were dying, Obi-Wan. You were slipping away so fast I thought you were going to join the Force.”  


“We all will eventually, Anakin.”  


“I know that,” Anakin replied, “I would prefer it if you were old and gray before it happens though.” Despite his light tone, Obi-Wan noticed tears threatening to fall from Anakin’s eyes.  


“Anakin,” Obi-Wan whispered, “Look at me, Anakin.” Obi-Wan tugged him closer when Anakin finally met his eyes, “Come here. You won’t hurt me, just come here.” Mindful of Obi-Wan’s wounds, Anakin slowly buried himself in his old master’s arms, finally allowing himself to cry. When they broke their embrace, Obi-Wan reached up and wiped the tear tracks from Anakin’s face. “This war…you had to grow up too fast. Ahsoka’s growing up too fast.”  


“I’m not a child, Obi-Wan,” Anakin retorted, regretting his words as soon as he said them, “I didn’t - I’m sorry, Master.” He tried to pull away but Obi-Wan still had a grip on his arm.  


“Don’t apologize. I’ve never doubted your abilities as a Knight, Anakin. You’ve had to face far more trials than anyone in my generation did,” Anakin was silent, staring down at their hands to avoid Obi-Wan’s gaze. “I may not be your Master anymore, but you know you can still talk to me about things, right Anakin?”  


“I know. I just…”  


Obi-Wan felt the conflicting emotions rolling off Anakin. “Whatever it is, you don’t have to carry it alone.”  


Anakin swallowed and began quietly, “I’ve always known I might lose you in this war, but it didn’t feel like a real possibility until you were nearly bleeding out in my arms. I thought I would be able to handle it, but I’m scared of losing you. I don’t know if I would be able to survive that. And then I only feel shame, because I know you wouldn’t want me to break if something happened to you. I shouldn’t even have an attachment to you, it’s a failure as a Jedi.”  


“Do you think of me as a failure, Anakin?”  


“Of course not!”  


Obi-Wan smiled, “For all our differences we’re very similar in one way, Anakin. We both struggle with attachments. And you’re right, I wouldn’t want my death to break you. But I know you wouldn’t. It will hurt, but you’ll survive,” his voice nearly broke as he said, “I should know.”  


“You don’t talk about him often,” Anakin whispered.  


“No, it still hurts too much,” Obi-Wan sniffed and reached up to dry his own eyes, “But if he were here, Qui-Gon would tell us to live in the present moment, so let’s not dwell on the past or worry about hypothetical futures, shall we?”  


Anakin smiled at that and nodded, “You seem to be healing quickly. I didn’t expect you to be awake and coherent already.”  


“You and Kix worked well together. You would have been a talented healer if you weren’t such a good Knight, Anakin. Pulling someone out of a healing trance that deep is not an easy task without very specific training.”  


Anakin gave Obi-Wan a puzzled look his remark, “I didn’t pull you out. I passed out when I came out of our meditation and woke up not long before you.”  


It was Obi-Wan’s turn to look confused, “I heard you call me back…” Realization dawned on Obi-Wan’s face and he smiled at his former Padawan, “You did it in your sleep.”  


“Is that even possible?”  


Obi-Wan stifled a yawn, “I’m sure it was you, Anakin. I felt your presence and it was certainly your voice calling for me.”  


“I’m keeping you up. We can ask Master Che about it when we get home.” He reached for the control panel above Obi-Wan’s bed and turned down the lights. But when he rose to return to the other bed, Obi-Wan tugged his sleeve.  


“Stay with me,” he whispered, “We’ll probably both have nightmares tonight anyway,” Anakin almost gave a half-hearted argument, but instead slipped off his boots and reached for the blanket on the spare bed. They shifted around a bit until Obi-Wan was tucked against Anakin’s side. He sighed and was soon drifting off to sleep.  


“Obi-Wan?”  


“Hmm?”  


“I love you too.”  


If Cody and Rex found their generals curled up together the next morning, they never mentioned it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Platonic kisses and cuddles make me very soft.
> 
> The "old and gray" line came out of me and I was like "aw soft Anakin" and then I remembered episode IV and almost made myself cry.

**Author's Note:**

> Title is the name of one of my favorite songs from The Traveling Wilburys.


End file.
